Dr Mark Van Breugel

Mark Van Breugel

Lecturer in Biochemistry

School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences
Queen Mary University of London
www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/staff/mark-van-breugel.html
Centre for Molecular Cell Biology

Research

Centrioles, Centrosomes, Primary Cilia, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Structural Biology

Interests

Centrioles are barrel-shaped cell organelles and are one of the largest protein assemblies found in animal cells. They form the core of centrosomes and thereby influence the organisation of the microtubule cytoskeleton in cells. If too many centrioles are made, extra centrosomes are assembled which can result in problems in cell division and diseases such as cancer. Centrioles also can use their distal appendages to dock to the cell membrane and template the outgrowth of hair-like cell projections called cilia and flagella. Cilia/flagella can move in a wave-like manner and thereby move fluid across the cell surface or propel cells, as observed in sperm cells. Other cilia types are immotile and act as sensory devices with which cells perceive their environment, e.g. smells, light or signalling molecules. Due to their key role in cilia formation, centriole defects can cause infertility and a class of diseases called ciliopathies.

Because of their size and complexity, centrioles are challenging to study experimentally. While many centriole components have been identified by genetic, cell biological and biochemical methods, it is poorly understood how exactly they come together, what precise role and mechanism of action these components have and how diseases result from their dysfunction. My lab addresses these questions using a wide variety of methods ranging from structural techniques such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy as well as biochemical and cell biological approaches.